Reporter. I make @armandalegshow — a podcast and newsletter about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can maybe do about it.
Distributed by KUOW - Seattle's NPR station.
www.armandalegshow.com
Dan Weissmann
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KFF’s latest poll shows a majority of the public (59%) now say they are at least “somewhat worried” about being able to afford prescription drugs for themselves and their families.
This is the largest share since KFF first polled on this question in 2018. https://on.kff.org/4s4LNCF
👀
Studies tested ChatGPT with medical queries— they gave wrong answers half the time. Confidently.
“Chatbots are not designed for health… They are designed for one thing: to mimic conversational fluency. They are just good at talking, like a salesperson when you try to buy a car.”
wapo.st/4cqPEVx
“…instead of patients shopping for medical services, it’s mostly health systems and insurers using the little data there is, turning it into fodder for negotiations...”
The “we won” video is a great watch.
“For a long time, I wanted to go back to normal… before cancer. … And there is no going back to normal. I feel like I have a new purpose in life, and that it to make sure this shit doesn’t happen [to others]”
🫡
www.instagram.com/reel/DTnozlb...
KFF
Fans of the pod and want to give us feedback? Take our survey! It’s quick, anonymous, and you could win a free Arm and a Leg sticker:
https://armandalegshow.com/2026-survey/
Stacie Dusetzina
When Cigna denied Keaton Herzer’s potentially life-saving cancer surgery, he told Instagram— then posted a series of reels showing him on the phone trying to get somebody’s attention at Cigna.
So many calls, many from his hospital bed. (Eventually it worked)
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www.instagram.com/reel/DTguPny...
Dan Weissmann
“Nobody wants that product,” said Amitabh Chandra, a Harvard health economist who has studied high-deductible plans.
Gift link www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/h...
Insurance is supposed to cover preventive care at no cost to you. So why will you sometimes end up with a bill anyway? In our First Aid Kit newsletter, we dig into this medical-bill minefield.
Dan Weissmann
An Arm and a Leg
Too often, insurance companies offer only “ghost networks” for mental health: lists of therapists who don’t actually accept your plan.
Too rarely do they face real accountability, as @propublica.org‘s reporting makes clear.
Politicians have pushed for price transparency in health care. But instead of patients shopping for services, it’s mostly health systems and insurers that are using the information, as fodder for negotiations over pay.
HUGE UPDATE! WE WIN! WE DID IT! Thank you all this is insane but each of you has played a role in potentially saving my life. I’m so grateful for all of you. WE KEEO GOING NO MATTER WHAT. ❤️ you all. #cancer #cholangiocarcinoma #transplant #insuranceView all 3,080 comments
www.instagram.com
Dan Weissmann
An Arm and a Leg
Dan Weissmann
This is what I spent my time doing today. I called other people too but @cignahealthcare can you plz approve my liver transplant so I can stop bothering poor Rachel. You can stop this any time you want. #cancer #cholangiocarcinoma #transplant #insurance #denialView all 1,647 comments
Hey there, A couple weeks ago, we made the case for getting your annual checkups early this year. Most of us think of these checkups as “preventive care”
armandalegshow.com
Eli Lilly has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a part of a Civil War-era law that allows private whistleblowers to bring fraud claims on behalf of the federal government, challenging a $183 million judgment in a case brought by a pharmacist who accused the drugmaker of defrauding Medicaid.
A new lawsuit alleges that an insurer’s ghost network hindered New York City employees from accessing the mental health care they sought — and harmed the reputation of psychiatrists wrongly listed as being in-network. My latest for @propublica.org: www.propublica.org/article/embl...
Reuters Legal
Max Blau
A new lawsuit alleges that an insurer’s ghost network hindered New York City employees from accessing the mental health care they sought — and harmed the reputation of psychiatrists wrongly listed as ...
Eli Lilly has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a part of a Civil War-era law that allows private whistleblowers to bring fraud claims on behalf of the federal government, challenging a $183 million judgment in a case brought by a pharmacist who accused the drugmaker of defrauding Medicaid.
